Patti's POV: Why We March

I may be one of the few people who actually remember the Sixties since I never did any drugs. I wasn’t prone to “Turn On, Tune In and Drop out,” a phrase used by Marshall McLuhan to express much more than getting stoned and forgetting about anything constructive. I have vivid memories of the sit-ins, the protests, the resistance and the struggles to end the Vietnam War, promote civil rights, women’s rights and gay rights. They were my teachers. College campuses were burning with protest energy. There were many marches; the March on Washington with Dr. King, The Poor People’s March, the anti-war marches in every major city, campus activism, the Nixon anti-inaugural, etc., etc., etc. It seems like the tactics of that era are returning.

Back then the marches were very much about protesting injustice and inequality at home and war in a far away land. As this era shapes and as we approach a presidential inauguration that is galvanizing the country and the world with concern, anger, discontent, and insecurity, it behooves us to know why we are marching. It is crucial for us to know where we stand, what we stand for and whom we stand with. At Peace over Violence we stand for peace, justice and equity over violence. It’s in our name, our mission and our vision. However, it’s easier to declare than do. To achieve that vision, we must practice and strive for compassion over judgment, inclusivity over exclusion, intersectionality over separation and fundamentally practice love over hate.

January is Stalking Awareness Month and Anti-Sex Trafficking Awareness month. We seem to have an awareness month for every kind of violence. Hopefully, the energy being created now will turn from awareness to action. It’s a bit ironic that the Women’s March in Washington and in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and the other 336 marches that are happening during the MLK, Jr. national holiday time. Dr. King taught many things including, “There is no peace without justice,” and he preached, “choosing love over hate.”

So why am I marching?

I am marching to stand with survivors of violence and the prevention of violence.
I am marching for a future alive with openness, creativity and equanimity.
I am marching for the victim/survivors of domestic & sexual violence who live on the streets of Los Angeles and who walk into our centers begging for help.
I am marching for health care that is affordable, portable and life affirming.
I march for the girls trapped into selling themselves by traffickers.
I march for immigrants living in fear.
I march for Muslims being targeted for their religion.
I march because “water is life.”
I march for black lives mattering.
I march for rape survivors who are not believed.
I march for creative restructure of our education system so every classroom is alive with learning.
I march for no more excuses.
I march because what women & girls wear or do are not invitations for sexual harassment, domestic violence or rape.

And much more…

I am so glad to be marching with the Peace Over Violence contingent along with so many groups and individuals willing to stand together to perfect and progress our communities, our country and the world.

Why are you marching?

Lets do this! Together over violence!